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HR’s Seat at the Table: Up for Grabs

Nov 26, 2012

A few years ago, I went to a presentation where the former
President of SHRM, Sue Meisinger
was speaking to a group of HR professionals. When it was time for questions, I
asked, “What do you wish HR professionals would stop doing?” Her priceless response was, “Would you please stop asking for your seat at
the table.” She went on to explain that people don't get to the executive table by asking. Either they show up and no one stops them, or they
are needed there because their input is invaluable. She commented
that HR needs to stop asking and start doing. Even better, HR needs to become
so influential that their input as the expert on talent management strategy is also
invaluable. So, why are so many people asking instead of doing? Because they
don’t do anything that warrants being there. Every HR
person I’ve ever met has plenty of work to do. The problem is not the volume of work
being done but the prioritization of work.

In an upcoming webinar I’m presenting, we focus on how HR
can become more strategic by finding the things that they can stop doing so
they can free time to do more things that really count. We’ll also talk about
adopting a new communication approach that should land any capable HR
professional at the table (whether they are ready for it or not). I don’t want
to give away all the good stuff, but adopted after the popular book from a few
years ago “Eat
this, Not that” we’ll talk about some strategies for “do this, not that”
and “say this, not that.” We’ll give you a sample checklist to figure out if
what you are doing is creating strategic value. We’ll show you how to conduct
risk analysis so you can identify which efforts to cut back or increase.

We’d love to share some of your real examples with the audience.
What have you stopped doing anything in the last few years that was worth it? What
did it allow you to spend more time on?